George Sidgwick, circa 1939, with pet.
Putting Down Roots
Three countries, three families, three stories. All Americans.
Sidgwick Family: England Tantillo Family: Italy Polischuk Family: Russia This pictorial layout is presented here as a downloadable PDF file: Putting Down Roots (PDF)
Water Works
Following the example of natural waterways, this article meanders. Hopefully, it makes connections between that H2O and some other facets of our vast land and its history that led to America’s unparalleled prosperity. Water was a natural bounty that provided a figurative and literal path to earnable wealth for our forebears, and continues for us [Read More…]
Connecting Oceans / Carleton Mabee
The globe in my New Paltz Campus School fifth-grade class- room clearly showed the Panamanian isthmus; Mrs. Compton, head-enlightener, pointed out that a channel was dug to connect the two oceans. Shipping options increased. Ho Hum. Not until the book, The Path Between the Seas, by David McCullough, made it onto my reading list that [Read More…]
The Social Relief Society Welcomes You to Cottekill…
The Inviting Postcard The bucolic image above is a postcard. Its postal cancellation reads: “Cottekill, N.Y. August 6, 1941, AM.” The Social Relief Society (SRS) advertising text on reverse sets the mood: “The S.R.S. Home is beautifully situated in the Catskill Mountains 900 feet above sea level in Cottekill, Ulster County, N.Y. Reasonable rates. All [Read More…]
Ulster County Hamlets: A-Z
The list below requires a little explanation. For instance, Rosendale is listed as a hamlet, but that is the common name for the village running along Route 213. The Town of Rosendale, however, encompasses many hamlets and the village of Rosendale is just one. Acccording to the town’s website, others are Binnewater, Bloomington, Bruceville, Cottekill, [Read More…]
